There are many instances, such as on construction sites and the like, in which the use of a ladder is required but the means for supporting it safely and stably is inadequate. The terrain may be excessively uneven, irregular or inclined, or there may be no vertical surface available for providing the lateral support necessary to enable the use of a straight ladder.
Gordon U.S. Pat. No. 2,586,531 provides a system that is mounted upon a truck body, which employs a pivoted casing for receiving the rails of a ladder; the lower ends of the rails are engaged in pockets provided on the casing.
Monaghan et al U.S. Pat. No. 3,123,178 also provides a system for supporting a ladder on a truck; a carriage frame is pivotably mounted on the vehicle body, and supports the ladder in use as well as in transport.
The ladder assembly disclosed in Humes U.S. Pat. No. 4,537,283 is specifically designed for mounting in the bucket of a tractor, and it includes auxiliary, groundcontacting bracing means.
Mullen U.S. Pat. No. 2,595,533 shows an assembly having a cross-bar pivotably connected to a pair of uprights, used to support vehicle loading ramps.
Maniscalco U.S. Pat. No. 4,527,827 and Rafi-Zadeh U.S. Pat. No. 4,613,181 disclose assemblies for carrying, respectively, a surfing board and a bed cover on a pickup truck. Reyes U.S. Pat. No. 4,175,641 shows an arrangement for laterally supporting a step ladder, and LaBate U.S. Pat. No. 3,907,246 provides a self-wedging device for holding side boards in position in ingot molds.
It is the broad object of the invention to provide a novel system for supporting a straight ladder, and more specifically to provide a novel ladder-supporting system that is adapted for installation in the bed of a truck body. Other objects of the invention are to provide such a system which is not only highly effective for its intended purposes, but is also relatively facile to manufacture and install.